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April 26,
2010 -- Vol. 30 No. 8
Topics This
Issue:
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Addressing consumer demands for socially responsible pork
production
Today's Pork Offers an Eco-Friendly
Choice
As Earth Day marks its 40th
anniversary, America's pork producers are proud to be among the
most environmentally conscious food producers in the world today. Just
as they took steps in the 1980s and 1990s to protect the soil and
water, today's pork producers are leaders in assessing their carbon
footprint to ensure that the food they raise supports the well-being of
their animals, consumers and the environment.
"It's
worth noting that animal agriculture as a whole contributes a small
part of U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and pork production's
carbon footprint is a small fraction of this," says Allan Stokes, director of environmental
programs for the Pork Checkoff. "Pork producers also
continue to identify areas where they can maintain the trend of
producing more food using fewer resources."
According
to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), only 2.8 percent of U.S.
GHG emissions in 2007 came from animal agriculture. Pork production
contributes even less--a mere one-third of one percent (0.33%) of total
U.S. GHG emissions.
As
the pork industry plays its part to feed an ever-growing world
population, producers are working on a specific plan to better
understand the pork industry's carbon footprint. Through the Pork
Checkoff, producers are funding research efforts at the University of
Arkansas' Applied Sustainability Center to identify and measure the
overall carbon footprint of live swine production and understand its
relationship to the overall pork supply chain.
"Pork
producers are determined to understand this important area in order to
better address challenges and capitalize on opportunities that make
good environmental sense and are economically sustainable," Stokes
says.
For
more information, contact Allan Stokes, AStokes@pork.orgor 515-223-3447
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Adding measurable value to pork
New Pork Options Sizzle at Jazzman's
Cafe, Sub Connection
From hardwood-smoked bacon
to ham, the Sodexo Corporation's foodservice outlets are adding more
pork to their menus at breakfast and lunch to create create an outstanding
dining experience for the the customers they serve.
"These
new items offer a lot of possibilities, because many of these offerings
become permanent menu items," says Howard Greenblatt, national
foodservice marketing manager for the Pork Checkoff.
Jazzman's Cafe, an upscale corporate brand of Sodexo Corporation that
rivals the national brand Starbucks, serves approximately 110,000
people a day at colleges, universities, hospitals and businesses across
the United States. More than just a specialty coffee shop, Jazzman's
Cafe has launched two new promotional items to its extensive menu,
including a triple-decker club sandwich and power-up breakfast
sandwich. Both sandwiches, which are being sold through mid-April,
feature hardwood-smoked bacon and smoked ham. The new offerings will be
promoted with point-of-sale signs, vertical banners, window clings and
e-mail postings to customers.
In
addition, Sodexo's Sub Connection, which rivals Subway, is featuring a
new Turkey Wrap with hardwood-smoked bacon through June 1. Sub
Connection boasts 225 locations in the United States and serves
approximately 55,000 patrons per day.
Greenblatt,
who notes that the Pork Checkoff is providing funds to help offset the
cost of these promotions, adds that many of Sodexo's previous
limited-time offers featuring pork have turned into permanent menu
items, including an Italian Supreme Submarine Sandwich with ham,
pepperoni, and bacon on an herb roll, as well as a Chipotle Dijon Ham
and Swiss sandwich on a roasted onion roll.
"Sodexo
is a good partner for the Pork Checkoff, and we look forward to helping
them find more ways to add pork to their menus," Greenblatt says.
For more information, contact hgreenblatt@pork.org or
410-484-0818
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Adding measurable value to U.S. Pork
New Recommended Tetracycline
Withdrawal Times Help Maintain U.S. Pork Exports
International markets around
the world continue to provide a valuable outlet for U.S. Pork and pork
products. For this reason, the federal government, along with the U.S.
Meat Export Federation, National Pork Producers Council, the American
Pork Export Trading Company and others, work to ensure export customers
get a continuous supply of high-quality, safe pork.
Recently,
a new pork trade certificate with Russia has been negotiated. This
certificate sets guidelines for packers that are exporting to Russia.
The Russian Product Verification Program (PVP) is a program to verify
compliance with the Russian tetracycline standard. The purpose of the
PVP program is to provide specific product requirements for marketing
U.S. Pork and pork products to the Russian Federation under the USDA
Export Verification Program. One of the product requirements is a
14-day withdrawal period for all soluble and feed-grade tetracycline
products to satisfy Russia's tetracycline minimum residue level (MRL).
Packers may require some type of verification to show this withdrawal
period is being met.
For
more information, contact Steve Larsen, SLarsen@pork.org or
515-223-2754
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Pork Checkoff
in the Spotlight
Survey - Checkoff
Satisfaction at Highest
Level
The
National Pork Board's annual survey of pork producers shows that even
though producers had a relatively gloomy view of the industry late last
year, they remained positive about the work being done through their Pork
Checkoff. The telephone survey of 550 producers selected at random from
the National Pork Board's database was conducted in December.
Several
of the questions in the survey have been asked each of the last eight
years. For example, to ascertain producers' general outlook, they are
asked if they believe the industry is moving in the right direction or
wrong direction. In the 2009 survey, 40 percent said right direction
and 50 said wrong direction. The wrong-direction number is the highest
since the 63 percent of 2003. The highest right-direction was 64
percent in 2006. And producers are always asked if they support
or oppose the Pork Checkoff and its programs. In 2009, support was 77
percent and opposition was 13 percent. The remainder had no opinion. The
77 percent support ties the all-time high from 2008.
The
remaining questions are designed to get producer views of contemporary
issues and programs to help the board in its budgeting process. Here
are a few of the key findings from pork producers in the 2009 survey:
• 43
percent believe consumers have a positive image of the pork industry;
36 percent say negative and 19 said neither.
• 80 percent said the Pork Checkoff achieves its goals of
promotion, research and consumer education.
• The We Care initiative is recognized by 57 percent and 86
percent say they approve of spending Checkoff resources to demonstrate
that producers act responsibly.
• Asked whether they believed the National Pork Board responded
adequately to the H1N1 market crisis, 67 percent said yes and 29
percent said no.
• Given a list of producer concerns, here is how producers ranked
the top five: The ability of industry opponents to influence production
practices; the public's understanding of pork production and food
safety; environmental regulations related to air and water quality; a
decrease in exports; possible limits on antibiotic use.
• 62 percent either have, or plan to have, their sites assessed
through the Pork Quality Assurance Plus? program. Another 17 percent
said they need more information and 13 percent said only if mandated.
Among those surveyed were 200 producers who market 101-5,000 hogs in
2008; 199 producers who marketed between 5,001 and 20,000 hogs; and 151
who marketed more than 20,000 hogs. The potential sampling error is
plus or minus 4 percent at the 95 percent confidence level.
For
additional information, contact Mike Wegner, mwegner@pork.org
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Pork
Checkoff. Your Investment. Your Future.
Pork Checkoff Service Center .
800-456-7675
Reprinting of the Pork Leader
is encouraged
Produced by: National
Pork Board
Pork Leader . 1776 NW 114th
St. Des Moines, IA 50306
515-223-2600
If you want to be removed from
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